est. 2008

Is destined for the rocksThe longer it takesDaylight is so close I can almost taste itIt’s all I got, and it’s not right

Everything is broken in my mindAin’t no place to runAin’t no place to hideDon’t wanna lose controlBaby I just might.”

Is there any better antidote to any sick feeling than the perfect guitar line? No, not really, and so often I find what I’m looking for in Ryan Adams. His latest record did not disappoint., It exceeded my expectations, stepping up its aggression from the pretty yet maudlin folk of Ashes and Fire, tapping into a classic-rock cadence and delivering the straightest, surest messages from a crooked, complicated heart. The first time I heard “I Just Might,” I must’ve played it a dozen times in arow, on a sullen, pivotal Wednesday night spent pacing and gnawing at my fingertips. Songs about this kind of desperation – the mad kind – are hard to do in this blues-rock style without coming off as kitcshy, but his always-sharp playing and subtle melody changes add sophistication to chords and structure that, in less masterful hands, could feel far less effective and elegant. I love love love this song.

See how slowly it builds? See how effortlessly it repeats, but not quite? Hear how far a little tambourine can go? The final bars and the outro are perfectly contrasted, a dash of uplift followed by the now-familiar shadow of a melody. His lyrics and imagery, as they are on the rest of this fulfilling self-titled, are direct, dramatic and precise – “shaking in the wind like a lame excuse,” “ghosts dwell in the streets from a hit and run.” The pace toys with the idea of increasing without really committing, never hitting that point of no return into an all-out break, but it feels like it just might, proving how sound can better encapsulate a feeling than most, or any, combinationwords may ever hope to. Though I like these words, though they mean something to me, the composition here tells the story. This is what it sounds like to feel tangled and naked and obvious, lost and dark but so, so aware of the ever-approaching brink. What a precarious place.

This is, I think, one of my favorite albums of the year, for so many songs and moments. I could see where it sounds too familiar to feel fresh, but these songs are ripped from the pages in so many ways, and crafted with such expertise that I am hard pressed to find a better recent example of what it means to write good, pure songs, straight from the heart and the lips and the strings, than these. The last four tracks, in particular, are my favorites. I will listen to them much more before this year is through, and this everlasting Ryan Adam’s admiration/inspiration grows.

“Hell is rising in front of my faceI’m free from desires, I rise above the mazeEvery step I take, closer to the sunDarkness is so loud, surrounding everyoneGhosts dwell in the streets from a hit and runKeep your head downKeep your eyes shut tightDon’t wanna lose controlBaby I just mightDon’t wanna lose controlI just mightDon’t wanna lose controlI just mightI just might

You make a wish, you want it to come trueBut somewhere underneath all the hope is the truthPrayers go unansweredYou’re waiting for the proofDon’t know what to sayDon’t what to do

Maybe every promise anybody makes is destined for the rocksThe longer it takesDaylight is so close I can almost taste itDon’t know what to say, don’t know what I saidEverything is broken in my headLost out in the darkness, looking for the lightThink I’m gonna runBaby I just mightI might,I might,I might,I might…”